Salinas, CA Zoning Overlays & Bonuses: Density Bonus Law (2026)

5, and 65917 locally and layers on a city bonus for senior housing. Under subsection (c)(1), a residential development of at least five dwelling units qualifies for a twenty percent density bonus above the general plan's maximum allowable density if the applicant commits to either ten percent of the units affordable to lower income households or five percent affordable to very-low income households. Subsection (c)(3) offers a five percent bonus for ownership projects with ten percent of units affordable to moderate income households. The bonus scales beyond the base tiers: for every one percent increase above the five percent very-low income threshold, the bonus grows by two and one-half percent, up to a maximum of thirty-five percent, per subsection (c)(4)(A); lower income and moderate income ownership projects scale by one and one-half percent and one percent per additional point, respectively.

Subsection (d) adds a separate fifteen percent density bonus, growing by one percent per point above a ten percent land-donation threshold, for projects that donate land for very-low income housing, which can stack with the affordability-based bonus up to the same thirty-five percent ceiling. Subsection (e) allows an additional bonus equal to the gross floor area of an on-site day care center, and subsection (g) creates a city-specific bonus for Senior Housing Type 2 projects where at least half the units are affordable, sized to match the affordable percentage.

Qualifying projects are also entitled to incentives or concessions under subsection (c)(6), such as one incentive for a project with at least five percent very-low income units, scaling to three incentives at fifteen percent. Fractional dwelling units created by the calculation always round up to the next whole unit under subsection (c)(5)(A).